Brooks Remains on Bowerman Watch List

By Athletics Communications

University of Oklahoma

MAY 17, 2012

May 17, 2012

NORMAN, Okla. – University of Oklahoma redshirt junior Tia Brooks enters the NCAA West Preliminary as one of 10 student-athletes on the 2012 Bowerman Watch List, it was announced today by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The award, track and field’s equivalent of the Heisman, is presented to the nation’s top track and field athlete over the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Brooks extended her outdoor program record in the women's shot put on April 25 with the best mark in the nation this year. Brooks won the event at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, lengthening her record to 60 feet, seven and a quarter inches on her final attempt. The mark set a Drake Relays record. She met the Olympic A standard with the throw and defended her 2011 title at the meet.

The mark is the third best by an American this year and 11th best throw in the world. It’s the 10th best throw ever by a collegian and she ranks sixth on the NCAA all-time list in the event with the mark. She won her first Big 12 outdoor title in the event this past weekend.

During the indoor season, Brooks became the 36th Sooner to win a coveted NCAA track and field national championship on March 10 at the Jacksons Track in Nampa, Idaho. Brooks turned in the performance of a lifetime with a throw of 62-4 to win her first national title in the women's shot put.

She was runner-up in the indoor and outdoor shot put at the 2011 NCAA Championships. Brooks has four All-America honors to her credit and has earned six all-conference honors and holds the indoor and outdoor shot put program records at Oklahoma. She was the first Oklahoma female to be named to the watch list.

Brooks is one of 30 Sooners declared for the NCAA West Preliminary May 24-26 in Austin, Texas.

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